Automatic sprinkler.



W. B. HAMMOND.

AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19, 1915.

l 1 7?, 1 82 Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

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THE CbLUMBlA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON/n. c.

vented new andugsefii w I V tomatic Sprinklers, of which the following wrrasnnrorter ffinngfnen narrfmonn, orsosrolv, MAssAoH snrrs.

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na y/agree.

"PatentedMange,1M6.

'ngis i aiioaiiiea fa pr'i lia, 1915. Serial No. 22,294.

T -alz'za apm ima' ppacem fBe it knownith t I,

and resident of n, Suffolk and State of Improvements i uis as eci-fieation.

My invention relates to automatic. fireprotection sprinklers,,. and, consists in improvements by which the .fheat e 'sitive member which is achai'acteristicb'f all "automafia .sr e l ra i t en e ins i si to heat communicated from within the sprinkler head or the piping system on which it is mounted, while remaining at least as sensitive as heretofore, to heat communicated from the air surrounding the protective system.

Generally defined, my invention consists in the provision of a superficially extensive heat diffuser intimately attached to or incorporated with, the heat-sensitive member of the sprinkler head, the function of which is to dissipate heat conducted to said sensitive member from within the sprinkler system, while external conditions remain normal and to collect heat and transmit it to the sensitive member, whenever the external conditions are modified by a marked rise in temperature, as in case of fire.

This invention is peculiarly adapted to automatic sprinklers mounted on a hot water heating system.

In the drawings hereto annexed which illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of a sprinkler head; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the heat-sensitive member; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same.

The sprinkler head selected for purposes of illustration is one of the Evans type, in which the water valve is normally held closed by a toggle lever system, retained by the sensitive member, which in this type is a link, held under tension. My improvements herein described are applied to the sensitive member itself, and may be adapted to theheat-sensitive members of other types of sprinkler.

In the drawings, (Fig. l), H represents the sprinkler head framework, V the water valve, and T, '1", the togglepair, terminating in lever arms L, L, which are held n0r- 'Hamio ibaf clitllizvn assa'fchusetts,"have 1n- "under restraint by the heat-sensitive fusible or partl'yfusible, link F. t

In order to render thelinkF (whichis representative of heat-sensitive members of all accepted types of s nrinklers) insensitive or indifferent .to heat transmitted by .conduc:

tion .throughithe lever armsL, L?, I, provide superficially extensive heat-diffusing means, specifically represented by;;the,coi'l of wire IV, which is conductively joined to Tthe dink F .by s older S. Preferably the wire Wye-ill be bl'ack-japanned, to enhance its heat radi- 1 ating capacity. :Breferably also; I .form :t-he openpoil of wire WV in turns of graded amplitude, so that the turns will not stand immecliately one over another, but will be so ditributed as to allow air to circulate through and over them to best advantage. The heat difiuser W, under normal conditions therefore dissipates heat received by conduction from the lever arms L, L, and is capable of dispersing heat at a rate far in excess of the conduction-rate. The free air circulation around the heat-diffuser promotes this operation.

When the emergency of fire in the protected region calls for action of the sprin kler, the functional properties of the heat diffuser \V render the sensitive member F more susceptible. The provisions for extene sive superficial contact with circulating air which under normal conditions enable the heat diffuser to disperse heat conducted to the sensitive member, render it effective as a heat collector when heat is convectively communicated by the surrounding air. The resultant novel utility lies in maintaining the sensitive member F in a condition of indifference to heat internal in the water system, and at the same time in a condition of hypersensitiveness to heat external to the water system. Although the link F may be of any approved form, in the example shown in the drawings it consists of a pair of overlapping plates held together under normal conditions by a readily fusible solder. In case of fire the solder melts and allows the two plates to pull apart releasing the toggle-lever members. In order to insure that the coil IV shall not bind the two plates and prevent their ready separation, one plate of the pair is made a little narrower than the other, as best shown in Fig. 2, and the coil \V is soldered to the edges of only the broader plate. This leaves the narrower plate of the pair free to pull out through the end of the coil w.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination, in an automatic sprinkler, of the characteristic heat-sensltive member, and a superficially extensive con ductive member, secured in heat conductive relationship directly to the heat-sensitive member.

2. The combination, in an automatic sprinkler, of the characteristic heat-sensitive member, and a convoluted Wire, secured in heat conductive relationship directly to the heat'sensitive member.

3. The combination, in an automatic sprinkler, of the characteristic heat-sensitive member, and a Wire, bent intoconvolutions of varying amplitude, secured in heat conductive relationship directly to the heatsensitive member.

4:. The combination, in an automatic Copies of this patent may be obtained for prising a pair of plates, one broader than the other, secured trgcther by fusible solder, and

a coil of Wire secured only to the edges of l the broader ofsaid plates.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this'third day of April, 1915.

WILBERFOROE BEECHER HAMMOND.

VVitn esses ROBERT CUSHMAN, JOSEPHINE H. RYAN.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of iatents,

Washington, D. C. 

